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Kodansha’s February Digital Delight – Shoujo Manga

March 13, 2017

The month of February was filled with some very exciting license announcements from Kodansha USA. If you have not heard yet, they released 6 new titles digitally that are shoujo or josei genre. Many of these are titles I’ve wanted to read for loonnnggg time, and never thought to see them translated professionally and legally into English. Here’s what has gone up on comixology and other digital media providers from Kodansha for the last month.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls (Tokyo Tarareba Musume)- Akiko Higashimura

The sharp new comedy from Akiko Higashimura, creator of Princess Jellyfish!

“I spent all my time wondering ‘What if?’ Then one day I woke up and I was 33.”

Rinko doesn’t think she’s that bad-looking, but before she knew it, she was thirtysomething and single. Now she wants to get married by the time the Tokyo Olympics rolls around in six years, but … that might be easier said than done.

Fans of Princess jellyfish will want to check this one out, since it is written by the same mangaka. The first chapter was interesting and can be previewed on Kodansha’s site. Click the cover above to check it out.

Chihayafuru – Yuki Suetsugu

Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.

Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don’t miss the first volume in this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!

Well now, we’ve been asking Kodansha for this for years. Back when the anime came out, fans were told it was too esoteric to publish in print. Now we have it digitally. However, I’m all for a print edition. I’ll buy it in English at that point. This is a fabulous manga and I LOVE it!! if you want to read it then check out the first volume. Click the cover above to preview the first chapter

Tsunami Umino’s manga rom-com recently adapted into a hit Japanese television drama! Mikuri is a recent grad without a whole lot of job prospects, so out of desperation when her housekeeping gig is about to come to an end, she comes up with the idea of becoming the wife of her single salaryman boss—as a job!

What’s a girl to do when there are no jobs? Once Mikuri Moriyama got out of grad school, all she could find was a temp job, and they just laid her off! Worried about his daughter, her dad helps her get a job doing housekeeping for this guy he used to work with named Tsuzaki. Just when things are starting to go well, though, Mikuri’s parents decide it’s time to move out to the countryside. She’ll likely be unemployed for the rest of her life if she goes with them, but she doesn’t make enough money to rent her own place. That’s when Mikuri, always the daydreamer, comes up with a solution out of left field …

This is one I haven’t read before and the premise sounds great! I’ll be checking it out for sure. Click the image above for a preview of Chapter 1.

House of the Sun (Taiyo no Ie) – Taamo

The moving account of a young woman who reconnects with a childhood friend as she puts together the pieces of her life following her parents’ broken marriage.

As a child, Mao spent all her time at Hiro’s house across the street. Going to his house always made her feel cheerful. A few years later, Mao’s father gets remarried and Mao finds herself with nowhere to call home. Hiro ends up letting her stay with him in the house he’s been occupying alone since the death of his parents. A love story unfolds, between two childhood friends of different ages.

Oh, gawd! I love this series!! I thought we’d never get it in North America because it is an age-gap relationship. It’s soooo good!! It’s one of those can’t miss series and Taamo made quite a name for herself in Japan with it. Click the cover to preview the first chapter.

Peach Heaven (Momoiro Heaven) – Mari Yoshino

At first glance, Momoko Shina may appear to be nothing more than your average high school girl, but she has a secret identity—as the famous erotica author “George Aihara”! After she witnesses an intimate moment between one of her teachers and the supermodel Ranmaru, she borrows a little too much from reality in an effort to beat the deadline on her latest story. When Ranmaru gets wind of this, he makes Momoko an offer she can’t refuse … Watch the sparks fly as these two try to figure each other out in this high-tension romantic comedy!

I’ve previewed this series before and it comes highly recommended by Emily of Shoujo-manga.land whom I consider one of my twitter pals. I know it won’t disappoint those who like smutty manga, so if that’s your thing – check this out! Click the cover above to preview chapter 1.

A Springtime with Ninjas (Hana to Shinobi) – Narumi Hasegaki

Benio is the heiress of the richest family in Japan, and tradition holds that she must marry the first person to kiss her. So that she can attend high school, Benio is assigned the ninja Tamaki as a bodyguard, but he turns out to be quite the player. It’s not always easy for a strong-willed rich girl and a smart-alecky ninja to get along in this romantic comedy about a pure young lady and her smoking-hot knight.

Yes! This sounds like a fun title. I’ll be checking it out soon. Click on the cover to preview chapter 1.

These are the titles Kodansha USA released digitally in February, and I see that volume 2 for some of these series will come out in March. If you’re out of shoujo to read or really want to read more josei, here’s your chance!

Out of curiosity, how many of you read manga digitally? I am not so keen on it myself, so I don’t jump at the chance to drop money on a digital title. If they were in print, I’d buy them in a heartbeat. What’s your take on it?

Editor’s Note: Synopses were taken from KodanshaUSA webpages to give accurate descriptions of the stories.